Cowards die many times before their deaths - eNotes Shakespeare Quotes Cowards die many times before their deaths Caesar: "Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once." Read on Owl Eyes This eText is now on Owl Eyes. Clicking this link will open a new window. Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, has had dreams in which her husband was murdered. At Caesar's request, the priests have sacrificed an animal which, upon being cut open, was discovered to have no heart. And so they sent word to Caesar that he should stay home on this fateful day, the ides of March, which the Soothsayer had already warned him about earlier in the play. Caesar muses, ""What can be avoided /Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?" In other words, if the gods are predicting that he is going to die, then how will he get around it? He goes on to encourage his wife with the now-famous lines, finding it strange that men fear death so much, when death is inevitable in every man's life. He has been a strong and brave man, and has not wasted precious hours of his life anticipating tragedy.

Julius Caesar (play) - Wikiquote Julius Caesar (play) Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare probably written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator, Julius Caesar , his assassination and its aftermath. Contents Beware the ides of March. Beware the ides of March. Soothsayer, scene ii And it is very much lamented, Brutus, That you have no such mirrors as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye. Cassius, scene ii Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, That you would have me seek into myself For that which is not in me? Brutus, scene ii Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Cassius, scene ii Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. Caesar, scene ii Cassius: Did Cicero say anything? Casca: Ay, he spoke Greek. Cassius: To what effect? Casca: Nay, an I tell you that I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another, and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. Scene ii Indeed, it is a strange disposed time: But men may construe things after their fashion, Clean from the purpose of the things themselves. Cicero, scene iii So every bondman in his own hand bears The power to cancel his captivity. Casca, scene iii Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come. Caesar scene ii Et tu, Brute? — Then fall, Caesar!

Caesar, scene i Shall this our lofty scene be acted over, In states unborn and accents yet unknown! Cassius, scene i As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity. Brutus, scene i O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! Antony, scene i Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war. Antony, scene i Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault; And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, — For Brutus is an honorable man; So are they all, all honorable men, — Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man.

Antony, scene ii The most unkindest cut of all Antony, scene ii O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason. Antony, scene ii My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me. Antony, scene ii If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. Antony, scene ii I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet. Cinna the Poet, scene iii There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. Remember March, the ides of March remember: Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, And not for justice?

What, shall one of us That struck the foremost man of all this world But for supporting robbers, shall we now Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, And sell the mighty space of our large honours For so much trash as may be grasped thus? I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, Than such a Roman. There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, For I am arm'd so strong in honesty That they pass by me as the idle wind, Which I respect not. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, For Cassius is aweary of the world; Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother; Cheque'd like a bondman; all his faults observed, Set in a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote, To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep My spirit from mine eyes!

There is my dagger, And here my naked breast; within, a heart Dearer than Plutus' mine, richer than gold: If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth; I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart: Strike, as thou didst at Caesar; for, I know, When thou didst hate him worst, thou lovedst him better Than ever thou lovedst Cassius. Cassius, scene iii O, that a man might know The end of this day's business ere it come! But it sufficeth that the day will end, And then the end is known. But this same day Must end that work the ides of March begun; And whether we shall meet again I know not. Therefore our everlasting farewell take: For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius! If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; If not, why, then, this parting was well made. Brutus, scene i O, that a man might know The end of this day's business ere it come! But it sufficeth that the day will end, And then the end is known.

Brutus, scene i I kill'd not thee with half so good a will. Brutus, scene v This was the noblest Roman of all All the conspirators, save only he, Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; He only, in a general honest thought, And common good to all, made one of them. His life was gentle; and the elements So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, This was a man! Antony, scene v So call the field to rest: and let's away, To part the glories of this happy day. Octavius, scene v Julius Caesar: Entire Play ACT III SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol; the Senate sitting above. A crowd of people; among them ARTEMIDORUS and the Soothsayer. Flourish.

Enter CAESAR, BRUTUS, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS BRUTUS, METELLUS CIMBER, TREBONIUS, CINNA, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, POPILIUS, PUBLIUS, and others 37 PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE So, is it worth studying stories written by a guy who lived 400 years ago? Actually, William Shakespeare's writing has had a tremendous influence right up to the present day. For example, here are some quotes that you must have heard - and all of these quotes are from Shakespeare's plays.  My salad days, when I was green in judgment Antony and Cleopatra  Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more Henry V  Lord, what fools these mortals be! A Midsummer Night's Dream  A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!  Now is the winter of our discontent Richard III ("Winter Of Our Discontent" is also a novel by John Steinbeck)  It was Greek to me  Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.

 Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears  The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves  The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. Julius Caesar ("The Evil That Men Do" is also a 1984 film.)  All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, As You Like It (Referenced in Elvis Presley's song "Are You Lonesome Tonight?")  If music be the food of love, play on  Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them Twelfth Night  Is this a dagger which I see before me?  A dagger of the mind, a false creation  And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. "The Sound and the Fury" is a novel by William Faulkner "All Our Yesterdays" is the title of a Star Trek episode "Dagger of the Mind" is the title of a Star Trek episode and a Columbo episode)  T'is neither here nor there  O! Beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on ... Othello  By that sin fell the angels. Henry VIII  How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child! King Lear  It is a wise father that knows his own child.  All that glisters is not gold  The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Merchant of Venice  Neither a borrower nor a lender be.  The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns.  The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

 This above all; to thine own self be true.  To be, or not to be: that is the question.  Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.  perchance to dream "The Undiscovered Country" is the title of the sixth Star Trek movie. "Perchance To Dream" is the title of a "Twilight Zone" episode. "The Conscience of the King" is the title of a Star Trek episode.  The better part of valour is discretion  He will give the devil his due Henry IV - Part I  He hath eaten me out of house and home  Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Henry IV - Part II  O brave new world that has such people in it The Tempest "Brave New World" is the title of a novel by Aldous Huxley  ... let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings Richard II Quoted in the movie "In Like Flint" (1967)  ... what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

 Parting is such sweet sorrow  What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Romeo and Juliet Well, you've just read some very familiar quotes and also have seen how some present-day authors have "borrowed" from Shakespeare. There have been many major motion pictures that have been based directly on Shakespeare's plays:  Romeo and Juliet (1936) (1954) (1966) (1968) (1996)  Hamlet (1948) (1990) (1996) Julius Caesar Julius Caesar Full-text annotated version of play Abridged annotated version of play Anticipation Guide Important Quotes from Acts I & II Act III- Trimming Shakespeare's Speeches Act III Review Anticipation Guide Part A Directions: In the space provided indicate whether you agree or disagree with the statement. Agree or Disagree Statement 1. _____________ It is never right to kill another person. 2. _____________ Political leaders usually act in the best interest of their countries. 3.

_____________ If a political leader has done something wrong, it is all right to get ride of him or her by whatever means necessary. 4. _____________ “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” 5. _____________ In certain situations it may be justified for a political leader to bend or break the law for the good of the country. 6. _____________ People should never compromise their ideals or beliefs. 7. _____________ “My country right or wrong” is not just a slogan; it is every citizen’s patriotic duty. 8. _____________ No cause, political or otherwise, is worth dying for. 9. _____________ “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant taste of death but once.” 10. _____________ “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is [often buried] with their bones.” Part B Directions: Select three of the above statements which you feel the most strongly about and respond to each by being as thoughtful and thorough as you are able. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer! I want to hear your individual voice responding to these ideas. Each response should be one to two paragraphs in length.

Act I Group Presentations You will be required to perform a scene from the play. The performance must include: • Being familiar with your lines (not stumbling over pronunciation) • Being able to explain the meaning of your lines • Writing in a part for your narrator (the narrator will explain the action and dialogue by smoothly interjecting throughout the performance) • Acting out, choreographing movement (don’t stand there are read off a piece of paper: BORING!!!) • Speaking loudly and clearly • Using props and name placards (NOT produced in class moments before the show) Grading Rubric Total out of 45 points Project Agenda Day 1- Read through the scene as a group, assigning roles and becoming familiar with the language. Day 2- Write out the narration, translating the action and dialogue of the play into YOUR OWN WORDS (not copying from the modern translation provided in the book). As a group work to figure out how to integrate the narration into the performance of the play. If time permits, begin to work on choreographing the action and movement of your performers (remember, facial expressions, tone and volume of voice, etc. are all important aspects when performing a scene). Day 3- Dress rehearsal.

Be sure to know what costumes your actors are going to where (Julius Caesar is traditionally performed in togas) and what props are necessary. Perform through your scene at least once. You will not have time to prep on Monday. Day 4- Performance of Act I in the Little Theatre. Day 5- Performance of Act I in the Little Theatre. 1. Where does the first scene take place? 2. What are Flavius and Marullus doing? 3. Who claims to be a “mender of bad soles,” a “surgeon to old shoes,” and one who lives by the “awl?” 4. According to a laborer, why have the people left their shops and assembled? 5. Who was Pompey? 6. How do Marullus and Flavius rebuke the people? Scene 2 7. Who was Lupercal, and when did the Feast of Lupercal occur? 8. What character establishes the notion that Caesar is ambitious, and that he flies too high and is a danger to free men? 9. The purpose of the Feast of Lupercal was to secure purification and fertility for the spring planting. What other purpose did it serve for women as well? 10.

In scene two, who, in particular, is instructed to stand in Antony's way and why? 11. What warning does the fortuneteller give to Caesar? 12. What is Caesar’s response to the fortuneteller’s warning? 13. What do Cassius and Brutus discuss after Caesar and his followers leave? 14. With whom is Brutus upset and why? 15. Cassius openly works on contrasting Brutus’s humility to Caesar’s presumptuousness and arrogance. Why? 16. What fear does Brutus blurt out when shots are heard and a trumpet sounds? 17. When Caesar returns from the race, which character’s countenance seems to disturb him? 18. How does Caesar contrast Cassius with Antony? 19. Why does Antony have to speak to Caesar from his right side? 20. Why does Brutus grasp Casca’s cloak? What does he want to know? 21. What does Casca tell him has happened? 22. What other physical impairment does Caesar have? 23. According to Casca, did the Roman people seem to want Caesar to be king? 24.

What dramatic action had Caesar taken in front of the people before his fainting? 25. How did Casca react to the events at the Lupercal Festival? 26. What has happened to Marullus and Flavius and why? 27. Cassius’s major plan involves Brutus. What is it? 28. What secretive means does Cassius intend to use to persuade Brutus he is more noble than Caesar? Scnene 3 29. In scene three, it is the evening of the Ides of March. Describe the weather. 30. Casca meets Cicero on the streets. State two unexplainable events. 31. What is Caesar to do tomorrow? 32. Cassius compared the storm to whom? 33. According to Casca, what do the senators plan to do tomorrow? 34. What pledge does Casca give to Cassius? 35. Who is Cinna? 36. According to Cinna, acquiring the cooperation of who would be more beneficial? 37. Cinna is to deliver the forged letters to what three places? 38. According to Cassius, what fraction of Brutus remains to be won over? 39.

Who “sits high in all the people’s hearts?” Part II- Act One Quotations Directions: For each quote identify who said it, to whom they were speaking, and what it means. 1. “O you hard-hearted people, you cruel men of Rome, didn’t you know Pompey the Great?” Speaker: Spoken to: 2. “If we can pluck these growing feathers out of Caesar’s wing, we can force him to fly lower.” Speaker: Spoken to: 3. “barren women, when touched in this holy race, are able to shake off the curse of sterility.” Speaker: Spoken to: 7. “I was born as free as Caesar and so were you. We both have eaten as well, and we can both Suffer the winter’s cold as well as Caesar.” Speaker: Spoken to: 8. “Cassius over there is too lean and hungry looking; he things too much. Such men are dangerous.” Speaker: Spoken to: 9. “Such and such are reasons, they are natural occurrences, because I believe that they are completely strange events, full of meaning for the place where they occur.” Speaker: Spoken to: 10.

“It’s a very pleasing night to honest men.” Speaker: Spoken to: 11. “O, he has a high place in the hearts of the Roman people, and what would appear offensive if we did it, his approval, like precious alchemy, will transform it to something virtuous and worthy.” Speaker: Spoken to: ACT II, SCENE I 1. What question is Brutus pondering at the opening of the scene? 2. For what information does Brutus want Lucius to look at a calendar? What is the significance of what Lucius finds? 3. Why do the conspirators want Cicero to join them? 4. Why does Brutus reject Cicero? What is Cassius's reaction and what does this show about his and Brutus's relationship? 5. What do the conspirators plan to do the next day? 6. How does Decius say he will make sure that Caesar will come to the Capitol? 7. What has Portia done to show Brutus that she is worthy of knowing his secrets? ACT II, SCENE II. 8. What strange and horrible things does Calphurnia report to Caesar that have been seen that night? 9.

What does Calphurnia mean by the following statement? “When beggars die, there are no comets seen;/The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”(30-31) 10. How does Decius convince Caesar to go to the Capitol? ACT II, SCENES III & IV 11. What is Artemidorus's plan? 12. Why is Portia so nervous and upset? On what errand does she send Lucius? Study Guide Questions for Act V Scene 1: 1. About what do Octavius and Antony argue? 2. What is significant about this day for Cassius? 3. What are two things Brutus says he will never do, even if he loses the war? Scene 2: 4. How does Brutus feel about the battle at this point? Scene 3: 5. Who wins the first battle? 6. What does Cassius send Titinius to do? 7. Why does Cassius decide to kill himself? 8. How does Cassius’s death help Pindarus? 9. What mistake caused Cassius’s death? 10.

What does Titinius do when Messala goes to inform Brutus of Cassius’s death? Scene 4: 11. What happens to Cato? 12. Who does Lucilius pretend to be? 13. What happens to Lucilius? Scene 5: 14. What does Brutus ask Clitus, Dardanius, and Volomnius to do? 15. How does Brutus die? 16. According to Marc Antony, why is Brutus better than the other conspirators? Trimming the Fat off the Speeches in Julius Caesar Act III- Murder & Treason!!! Your Task: We are going to perform an edited version of Act III of Julius Caesar. For this assignment, your group must carefully edit your assigned section of the act. The editing should not alter Shakespeare’s language; it should just make the speeches briefer while maintaining the central meaning. Below, study the example which has been provided. The Original: 3.1.159-162 (33 words) BRUTUS I know that we shall have him well to friend.

CASSIUS I wish we may; but yet have I a mind That fears him much, and my misgiving still Falls shrewdly to the purpose. Cut in Half (18 words) BRUTUS We shall have him to friend. CASSIUS We may: yet have I a mind that fears him much. The Main Ideas (which must retain its message after the cuts) * Brutus is optimistic and thinks Antony will be on the conspirators’ side. * Cassius is pessimistic and fears Antony. Setting: Rome, March 44BC There was a civil war and Pompey was the leader of the losing side. Julius Caesar returns to Rome victorious and the citizens were celebrating in the streets. Marullus and Flavius, who were supporters of Pompey, get angry with the citizens and Caesar will order their execution later in Act I. There is a race to celebrate the Feast of Luprical. On his was to this festivity, Caesar is warned by a soothsayer, “Beware the Ides of March,” which he promptly ignores. At the race Caesar is offered the crown by Marc Antony three times and he rejects this offering each time.

Meanwhile Cassius is working on convincing Brutus that Caesar must be assassinated in order to save Rome from Caesar’s ambitions nature. Brutus is convinced and joins the conspiracy. Other conspirators include: Casca, Cinna (not the poet), Decius Brutus, Metellus Cimber, Trebonius, Caius, etc. The conspirators meet on a storm night (pathetic fallacy) at Brutus’s house to plot Caesar’s death. The signal to stab him will be: “Speak hands for me!” which will be said by Casca. Portia, Brutus’s wife, convinces him to confide in her. Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife, has dreams that foreshadow something terrible happening to her husband. She begs Caesar to stay home on the Ides of March, however he does not heed her advice and goes to the Senate as usual. Along the way he is petitioned for favors although he doesn’t grant any. On this same morning, Cassius believes that the conspiracy has been discovered because Popilius Lena wishes Cassius good luck in his endeavor and then goes to talk to Caesar.

The gig is not up, however, because only moments later the conspirators successfully kill Julius Caesar. Marc Antony discovers what has happened to Caesar. First, he asks the conspirators to kill him right alongside Caesar, but then Brutus explains that they do not plan on killing him. Antony convinces Brutus and Cassius that he should be allowed to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Cassius has doubts about this, however Brutus overrides him. When left alone with the body, Antony speaks directly to Caesar’s corpse, an example of apostrophe. At the funeral, Brutus speaks first and he convinces the crowds that it was the right thing to do to kill Caesar. However, Antony speaks after and convinces the crowd that Caesar was a good guy, not overly ambitious, and he rallies the crowds to turn on the conspirators. Meanwhile Brutus and Cassius flee when they realize the mob has turned against them. Unfortunately for the poet Cinna, he is killed by the angry mob. Act IV, war unfolds. Writing About Theme Stating the Theme A clear, precise statement about a story’s theme can serve as a promising thesis sentence.

After you read a story, you will probably have some vague sense of its theme—the central unifying idea, or the point of the story. How do you hone that vague sense of theme into a sharp and intriguing thesis? Start by making a list of all the story’s possible themes. From there, determine which points are most important, and formulate a single sentence in which you touch on each one. For a story in which you have listed the following as possible themes: tradition vs. progress, pride goes before the fall, and insensitivity to others’ feelings, you might write a summary such as: The central theme of --- is that progress is best made in a spirit of compromise, not by insensitivity to the feelings o those who follow the old ways. Remember, your goal is to transcend a mere one-sentence plot summary. Try to capture the story’s essence, its deeper meaning. To flesh out your statement into an essay, relate details of the story to the theme you have spelled out. Like all thesis sentences, yours must stand up in the face of the evidence. If you encounter elements of the story that seem to contradict your thesis, you may need to do some fine-tuning.

Your thesis, or statement of theme, should apply to everything in your story. If it doesn’t, reevaluate. You may have missed some crucial details, or you may be overlooking the story’s central preoccupation, focusing instead on a peripheral one. If this is the case, you will need to start from scratch. This happens to the best of writers; recognizing your own mistakes is an important step in critical thinking. Checklist Determining a Story’s Theme List as many possible themes as you can. Circle the two or three most important points and try to combine them into a sentence. This sentence is your preliminary thesis. Relate particular details of the story to the theme you have spelled out. Consider plot details, dialogue, setting, point of view, title—any elements that seem especially pertinent. Check whether all the elements of the story fit your thesis. If not, reevaluate your thesis. Have you missed an important aspect of the story? Or, have you chosen to focus on a secondary idea, overlooking the central theme? If necessary, rework your thesis until it applies to every element in the story. Theme Word Bank Time War Source: Kennedy, X. J.

and Dana Gioia, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Pearson and Longman, New York: 2009. Extra Credit Project Options Options 1 15-minute Caesar Movie: Summarize each of the 18 scenes in an abbreviated script with a cast large enough to portray the whole play. This will probably make the tragedy seem funny; go for it. Make us laugh with your speedy tragedy. Sometimes a parody makes the tragedy easier to deal with. A script is mandatory. Your movie should be filmed and must be viewable on a standard DVD or VHS player. If I cannot watch the movie, I cannot give any credit. (Group Project) Options 2 Rap/Song Summary (music video optional / see note above about video view-ability): Summarize each of the 18 scenes in the lyrics of your song or rap. Be prepared to perform your song/rap live or by recording. Written explanation of song is mandatory. (Up to three members) Options 3 Comic Book: Write a comic book that includes each of the 18 scenes in Caesar.

(Up to two members) Options 4 Mock Trial: Instead of killing Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius, let’s put them on trial. Stage a mock trial (live or video / see note about video view-ability) with any combination of these characters on trial for his crimes. Produce evidence against him, his defense, and the judge’s verdict with explanation. Written summary of evidence with explanation is mandatory. (Group Project) Options 5 Sound Track: Choose songs to accompany each scene of the play if it were adapted to a contemporary time. Choose from instrumental or vocal music to suit the mood you need to convey through music. You will need to present a recording of the music you choose along with a scene by scene list and written (paragraph form) description justifying your choice. (Individual Project) SparkNotes: Julius Caesar: Important Quotations Explained Important Quotations Explained Act V, scenes iv–v Key Facts I could be well moved if I were as you. If I could pray to move, prayers would move me. But I am constant as the Northern Star, Of whose true fixed and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament.

The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks; They are all fire, and every one doth shine; But there’s but one in all doth hold his place. (III.i.58–65) These lines come from Caesar’s speech in Act III, scene i, just before his assassination. The conspirators have come to Caesar in the Senate under the pretense of pleading for amnesty for Metellus’s banished brother, Publius Cimber. Caesar replies that he will adhere to his word and not change his earlier decision. Comparing himself to the North Star, Caesar boasts of his constancy, his commitment to the law, and his refusal to waver under any persuasion. This comparison implies more than steadfastness, however: the North Star is the star by which sailors have navigated since ancient times, the star that guides them in their voyages, just as Caesar leads the Roman people. So, too, is the North Star unique in its fixedness; as the only star that never changes its position in the sky, it has “no fellow in the firmament.” Thus, Caesar also implies that he is peerless among Romans.

Caesar declares that he alone remains “unassailable” among men, and his strictness in Publius Cimber’s case illustrates this virtue. As it comes mere moments before the murder, the speech adds much irony to the scene: having just boasted that he is “unassailable,” Caesar is shortly assailed and killed. In announcing his “constancy,” Caesar claims permanency, immortality even. The assassins quickly prove Caesar mortal, however. But as the later events of the play reveal, Caesar’s influence and eternality are undeniable. His ghost seems to live on to avenge the murder: Brutus and Cassius directly attribute much of their misfortune to Caesar’s workings from beyond the grave; so, too, does the name “Caesar” undergo metamorphosis from an individual man’s name to the title of an institution—the empiric rule of Rome—by the end of the play. In these more important ways, Caesar’s lofty estimation of himself proves true. 2. I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, And sure he is an honourable man.

(III.ii.82–96) Antony speaks these lines in his funeral oration for Caesar in Act III, scene ii. He has asked Brutus’s permission to make the speech, and Brutus foolishly allows him the privilege, believing that the boost in image that he and the conspirators will receive for this act of apparent magnanimity will outweigh any damage that Antony’s words might do. Unfortunately for the conspirators, Antony’s speech is a rhetorical tour de force, undermining the conspirators even while it appears deferential to them. This clever strategy recalls the previous scene (III.i), in which Antony shook hands with each of the murderers in turn, thus smearing Caesar’s blood among all of them; while appearing to make a gesture of reconciliation, he silently marked them all as guilty. In both the handshake and the speech, Antony damns the murderers while appearing to pay respect, showing his consummate skill as a politician and rhetorician. The speech draws much of its power from repetition. Each time Antony cites Brutus’s claim that Caesar was “ambitious,” the claim loses force and credibility.

Similarly, each time Antony declares how “honourable” a man Brutus is, the phrase accrues an increasingly sarcastic tone until, by the end of the speech, its meaning has been completely inverted. The speech wins over the crowd and turns public opinion against the conspirators; when Antony reads Caesar’s will aloud a few moments later, the dead Caesar’s words join with Antony’s in rousing the masses against the injustice of the assassination. 3. [My horse] is a creature that I teach to fight, To wind, to stop, to run directly on, His corporal motion governed by my spirit; And in some taste is Lepidus but so. He must be taught, and trained, and bid go forth— A barren-spirited fellow, one that feeds On objects, arts, and imitations, Which, out of use and staled by other men, Begin his fashion. Do not talk of him But as a property.

(IV.i.31–40) In this passage from Act IV, scene i, in which Antony and Octavius (with Lepidus, who has just left the room) are making plans to retake Rome, the audience gains insight into Antony’s cynicism regarding human nature: while he respects certain men, he considers Lepidus a mere tool, or “property,” whose value lies in what other men may do with him and not in his individual human dignity. Comparing Lepidus to his horse, Antony says that the general can be trained to fight, turn, stop, or run straight—he is a mere body subject to the will of another. The quote raises questions about what qualities make for an effective or valuable military man, politician, and ally. Antony remarks that Lepidus “feeds / On objects, arts, and imitations, / Which, out of use and staled by other men, / Begin his fashion.” By this criticism he means that Lepidus centers his life on insubstantial things, prizing what other men have long since discarded as “stale” or devoid of flavor and interest; that is, Lepidus lacks his own will and convictions.

While Lepidus’s weak sense of selfhood means that he can easily be used as a tool by other men, it also means that he can be counted on to be obedient and loyal. Lepidus is thus absorbed into the threesome (with Antony and Octavius) that rules Rome after Caesar’s death, ultimately coming into power and political prestige with little effort or sacrifice. In Julius Caesar, men such as Brutus and Caesar are punished in the mortal realm for their inflexible commitment to specific ideals. Though Antony criticizes Lepidus, perhaps Shakespeare is subtly suggesting that a man such as Lepidus, “barren-spirited” and seemingly lacking in ambition, will be as satisfied in the political realm as his more directed counterparts. 4. Quotations from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Beware the ides of March. (1.2.13) He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. (1.2.24) I am not gamesome: I do lack some part Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. (1.2.28) Poor Brutus, with himself at war, Forgets the shows of love to other men.

(1.2.46) Set honour in one eye and death i' the other, And I will look on both indifferently. (1.2.87) Well, honour is the subject of my story. I cannot tell what you and other men Think of this life: but, for my single self, I had as lief not be as live to be In awe of such a thing as I myself. (1.2.92) I was born free as Caesar; so were you: We both have fed as well, and we can both Endure the winter's cold as well as he. (1.2.97) Ye gods, it doth amaze me, A man of such a feeble temper should So get the start of the majestic world, And bear the palm alone. (1.2.129) Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus; and we petty men Walk under his huge legs, and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves. Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

(1.2.135) When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome, That her wide walls encompassed but one man? Now is it Rome indeed and room enough, When there is in it but one only man. (1.2.154) There was a Brutus once that would have brook�d The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome As easily as a king. (1.2.167) Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights; Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. (1.2.192) 'Tis very like: he hath the falling sickness. (1.2.256) He reads much; He is a great observer, and he looks Quite through the deeds of men. (1.2.209) But, for my own part, it was Greek to me. (1.2.283) Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.

(1.3.90) Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; But life, being weary of these worldly bars, Never lacks power to dismiss itself. (1.3.93) 'Tis a common proof, That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; But when he once attains the upmost round, He then unto the ladder turns his back, Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees By which he did ascend. (2.1.22) Between the acting of a dreadful thing And the first motion, all the interim is Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream: The genius and the mortal instruments Are then in council; and the state of man, Like to a little kingdom, suffers then The nature of an insurrection. (2.1.63) O conspiracy! Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?

(2.1.77) Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods, Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds. (2.1.173) For he is superstitious grown of late, Quite from the main opinion he held once Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies. (2.1.196) But when I tell him he hates flatterers, He says he does, being then most flattered. (2.1.208) Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter; Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber: Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies, Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep�st so sound. (2.1.240) That great vow Which did incorporate and make us one. (2.1.272) You are my true and honourable wife, As dear to me as are the ruddy drops That visit my sad heart. (2.1.286) Think you I am no stronger than my sex, Being so fathered and so husbanded?

(2.1.296) Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds, In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol. (2.2.22) When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes. (2.2.30) Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come. (2.2.34) Danger knows full well That Caesar is more dangerous than he: We are two lions littered in one day, And I the elder and more terrible. (2.2.45) O constancy! be strong upon my side; Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue; I have a man's mind, but a woman's might. How hard it is for women to keep counsel! (2.4.6) Caesar. The ides of March are come. Soothsayer. Ay, Caesar; but not gone.

(3.1.1) But I am constant as the northern star, Of whose true-fixed and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament. (3.1.58) Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar! (3.1.77) Ambition's debt is paid. (3.1.83) He that cuts off twenty years of life Cuts off so many years of fearing death. (3.1.101) How many ages hence Shall this our lofty scene be acted o'er, In states unborn, and accents yet unknown! (3.1.111) O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure? (3.1.148) Your swords, made rich With the most noble blood of all this world. (3.1.155) O! pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers; Thou art the ruins of the noblest man That ever liv�d in the tide of times.

(3.1.254) Cry, 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war. (3.1.268) Passion, I see, is catching. (3.1.283) Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear. (3.2.15) Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. (3.2.22) As he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. (3.2.27) Who is here so base that would be a bondman? (3.2.31) Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury C�sar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. (3.2.79) He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man.

(3.2.91) When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. (3.2.97) O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason. (3.2.110) But yesterday the word of Caesar might Have stood against the world; now lies he there, And none so poor to do him reverence. (3.2.124) This was the most unkindest cut of all; For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, Quite vanquished him: then burst his mighty heart; And, in his mantle muffling up his face, Even at the base of Pompey's statua, Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. O! what a fall was there, my countrymen; Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, Whilst bloody treason flourished over us. O! now you weep, and I perceive you feel The dint of pity; these are gracious drops.

(3.2.189) I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts: I am no orator, as Brutus is; But, as you know me all, a plain, blunt man, That love my friend. (3.2.221) Were I Brutus, And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue In every wound of Caesar, that should move The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. (3.2.231) He hath left you all his walks, His private arbours, and new-planted orchards, On this side Tiber; he hath left them you, And to your heirs for ever; common pleasures, To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves. (3.2.252) Fortune is merry, And in this mood will give us anything. (3.2.271) When love begins to sicken and decay, It useth an enforc�d ceremony. There are no tricks in plain and simple faith. (4.2.20) Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself Are much condemned to have an itching palm.

(4.3.7) Shall we now Contaminate our fingers with base bribes? (4.3.23) I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, Than such a Roman. (4.3.27) There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats; For I am armed so strong in honesty That they pass by me as the idle wind, Which I respect not. (4.3.67) By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash By any indirection. (4.3.72) A friend should bear his friend's infirmities, But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. (4.3.86) All his faults observed, Set in a note-book, learn�d, and conn�d by rote. (4.3.92) There is a tide in the affairs of men Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

(4.3.218) We must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. (4.3.247) The deep of night is crept upon our talk, And nature must obey necessity. (4.3.251) Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius! If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; If not, why then this parting was well made. (5.1.125) O! that a man might know The end of this day's business, ere it come; But it sufficeth that the day will end, And then the end is known. (5.1.131) This day I breath�d first: time is come round, And where I did begin, there shall I end; My life is run his compass. (5.3.23) O hateful error, melancholy's child! Why dost thou show, to the apt thoughts of men, The things that are not? (5.3.67) I had rather have Such men my friends than enemies.

(5.4.28) Thou art a fellow of a good respect; Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it. Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face, While I do run upon it. (5.5.45) This was the noblest Roman of them all; All the conspirators save only he Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; He, only, in a general honest thought And common good to all, made one of them. His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a man!' (5.5.68) _____

Question: Can you identify the play by William Shakespeare in which the following quote appears, "Cowards die many times before their deaths"?
Answer: 'JULIUS CAESAR'